[From Press Release] New research from the New Climate Economy shows that raising energy efficiency standards in the G20 and around the world could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 6.9 Gt CO2e per year by 2030, more than the current annual emissions of the United States. These emissions reductions would be accompanied by economic savings in appliances, buildings, industry, and transport….

G20 countries consume 80% of the world’s energy and produce 94% of the world’s cars, so have a major influence on the uptake of efficient technologies worldwide.

The report highlights IEA research which found that the global benefits of energy efficiency could be as much as US$18 trillion by 2035. Improving energy efficiency can free up resources for other, more productive investments, and can create up to three times as many jobs as fossil fuel supply investments per dollar invested…

The paper finds that there are plenty of examples of energy efficiency initiatives that have worked in the past, including Japan’s “Top Runner Approach” for appliances. With this policy, for instance, the highest level of energy efficiency currently available (and sometimes an improvement on that level) for a particular product becomes the new standard in future years…